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DONALD TRUMP was accused of “mafia-like” behaviour today after saying that his government should get a cut from the sale of TikTok’s US unit if it is bought by an American firm.
Beijing accused the belligerent billionaire of bullying behaviour and of the attempted theft of the Chinese social-media firm, which is the subject of a bid by US-based Microsoft.
The US president initially opposed the deal and has accused TikTok of supplying information to the Chinese government.
But Mr Trump now says he has demanded a “substantial portion” of any sale, having spoken with Microsoft boss Satya Nadella.
He insisted that the app would be banned in the US if a deal is not struck by September 15.
The state-run China Daily newspaper warned that China had “plenty of ways to respond if the administration carries out its planned smash and grab.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, Charlotte Jee, a reporter at the MIT Technology Review magazine, said: “I hate to say this but it is kind of almost mafia-like behaviour — threatening a ban which pushes down the price then saying, ‘we should get a cut of that deal afterwards to say thank you for what we’ve done’.”